Schwabach

With a current population of just over 41,000, the city in the east of the administrative district of Central Franconia is one of its four largest cities. Schwabach is located on the river of the same name just outside the southern gates of Nuremberg, with the romantic Rednitz Valley nearby. First mentioned in a document as "villa Suabach" in 1117, the town was known in the Middle Ages for its gold craft. To this day, a roof made of the precious metal adorns the town hall built in 1528. In the 15th and 16th centuries, its hall was also lavishly embellished with gold leaf, as was the gothic convertible altar of the Church of St. John. The "Golden Mile" leads as an art trail through the old town, where every year at the beginning of August the "Goldschlägernacht" takes place as a folk festival.